Wall facing



F. SOHN ed Aug. 21. 1935 I Oct. 11, 1938.

Patented Oct. 11, 1938 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE WALL FACING Frank Sohn, Chicago, 111., assignor to Libbey- Owens-Ford Glass Company,-Toledo, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application August 21, 1935, Serial No. 37,155

10 Claims.

asphaltic cement. When done with proper care,

this method has proven entirely satisfactory. However, there have been instances of installations where, due to some procedure of construction being improperly carried out,.tl1e glass slabs have separated from the wall and fallen to the sidewalk endangering the lives of persons passing The. aim ofthis invention is to makeit possible securely and permanently t01h01d such panels or slabs to the'face-of. awallby the provision of novel mechanical anchoringmeans. which is preferably used in conjunction with thecustomary asphaltic cement. t 7

Another object of the invention is the pro vision of mechanical anchoring means for securing the slabs or panels to the ,face of the wall which is entirely concealed andwhichtherefore results in a neat and attractive facing.

Another object of. the invention is the provision of mechanical anchoring means in the form of metal hangers which are of simple and inex pensive construction; whiclrmay be easily and conveniently made and installed; which place a minimum strain on the facing slabs or panels; and which are adaptable to all conditions.

A further object of the invention is the provision of the novel method herein disclosed of constructing a wall facing by concealed mechanical attachment and which method isnot only secure but economical and easy to carry out and accomplished without the use of any costly machinery or special equipment. 1

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing wherein like numerals are employed todesignate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one of the improved metal hangers constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is aview of the blank from which the hanger is formed,

Fig. 3 is a view showing the manner in which the facing slabs or. panels are prepared for receiving the hangers, I Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a portion of a wall showing the facing attached thereto,

and

Fig. 5, is a front View thereof.

With reference to the drawing, one of the improved metal hangers, constituting the mechanical anchoring means for the facing slabs or panels, is illustrated in Fig. 1 and designated in its entirety by the numeral ID. This hanger comprises a vertical elongated body portion Il-prosubstantially horizontal foot l2 extending at substantially right angles relative to said body por tion. The foot I2 is formed at its outer end with the two vertical tongues l3 and I 4 which extend. respectively downwardly and upwardly and. which are arranged substantially parallel with the body portion ll, said body portion being provided withcpenings I5 through which may be inserted suitable fastening elements for securing the hanger in place.

The hanger H) is preferably of-a one-piece construction and may be formed from a single relatively narrow strip of suitable metal, the blank strip from which the hangeris formed being illustrated in Fig. 2. In making the hanger, one end of the blank strip is first rounded as indicated at I6 and isthen slit longitudinally intermediate the side edges thereof for a'rela- .tively short distance extending inwardly from said rounded edge as at IT. The metal at one 15 vided atits lower end with a forwardly directed, I

transverseline 18 to form the tongue l3 while the metal at the opposite side of said slit is bent upwardly also along line I 8 to form the tongue I4. The metalstrip isthen bent ninety degrees along the transverse line 19, the relatively long portion of the strip above said line constituting the body portion ll while the relatively shorter portion of the strip between lines 18 and [9 constitutesthe foot I2. The punching of the holes IS in the body portion may be done at any time during the formation of the hanger.

. One of the panels or slabs of vitreous material, such as opaque structural glass which is to be usedas the facing material, is shown in Fig. 3. In rendering the panel or slab capable of use With the hanger I0, a relatively narrow groove 20 is formed in either the upper or lower edge or in both edges thereof, depending upon the posishallow and have rounded bottoms as indicated at 2|.

There is illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing a portion of a wall 22 of a building, the outer face of which is covered by the slabs or panels of opaque structural glass or other vitreous mate- 1 rial. In attaching the facing to the wall, the panel 23 at the bottom of the wall is first secured thereto by the asphaltic mastic 24 in the usual mannerl Before being thus secured in place, however, the upper edge of the panel is formed with a groove 29. tongue l3 of the hanger I0 is then loosely inserted within the groove 26 and the said hanger securely fastened to the wall 22 by screws, nails, or the like 25 passing through openings 15.

The top edge of the panel 23 is then covered with a layer of suitable joint cement 25, after which a second panel 21 is positioned above the panel 21 will be directly abovethe upper edge of the lower panel 23, with the joint between first panel and secured to the wall 22 with asphaltic cement 28. The bottom edge of the upper said edges being sealed by the cement 26. bottom edge of the upper panel 2'1! is provided with a groove 28 and in positioning this panel the upturned tongue Id of the hanger ill will be received within the said groove 22. The two panels may be held properly spaced from one another by a spacer strip 29 of cork or the like carried upon the foot l2 of the hanger. V

The above method is continued for each succeeding panel, with two hangers I0 being ordinarily used for each panel, one adjacent each end thereof. The hangers Hi effectively prevent the facing panels from separating from the building while the asphaltic cement holds the panels steadily in place at the proper distance from the wall. As pointed out above, the grooves in the facing panels or slabs are provided with rounded bottoms and due to the rounding of the end of the metal strip as indicated at E6, the outer edges of the tongues l3 and M or, in other words, those edges facing the bottoms of the grooves are also rounded. This arrangement serves to place the least strain upon the facing panels. I

With the above arrangement and method of installation, it will be readily apparent that mechanical anchorage of the structural glass is accomplished'in a convenient and economical manner. Furthermore, that'the mechanical anchoring means is entirely concealed so that it will not mar or detract from the appearance of the facing. The hangers ID, while of simple, inexpensive construction, will serve to permanently secure the panels to the wall of the building and may be easily and quickly installed. Moreover, the type of hanger used, coupled with the shape of the grooves in the edges of the panels, results in the least weakening of the structural glass. The fact that the grooves in the panels are relatively larger than the tongues of the hangers results in a loose fit and permits the said panels to expand and contract without being restrained bythe mechanical holding means. Likewise, the metal hangers may also expand and contract without placing any strain on the panels. I 1

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be The down-turned The taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. A one-piece hanger for securing slabs of structural facingmaterial to the walls of buildings, comprising a strip of metal having a body portion adapted for attachment to the wall of the building, said strip being bent laterally adjacent one end to provide a foot extending at substantially right angles relative to said body portion, the outer end of said foot being rounded and the foot being slit longitudinally intermediate its side edges for a relatively short distance inwardly from the curved outer end thereof, the metal at opposite sides of said slit being bent in opposite directions to form a pair of tongues which are arranged substantially parallel with said body portion and adapted 'for engagement with the structural facing material.

2. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having grooves with rounded bottoms formed in certainof the edges thereof, and mechanical anchoring means secured to said wall and having portions fitting loosely in said grooves.

3. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having grooves with rounded bottoms formed in certain of the edges thereof, and metal hangers secured to said wall and having portions looselyreceived within said grooves.

4. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having grooves with rounded bottoms formed in certain of the edges thereof inwardly of the opposite side faces of said panels, and one-piece metal hangers secured to said wall and having tongues loosely fitting in said grooves.

5. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having relatively shallow grooves with rounded bottoms ground in certain of the edges thereof inwardly of the opposite side faces of said panels, and mechanical anchoring means secured to said wall and having portions fitting loosely in said grooves and spaced from the bottoms of the said grooves.

6. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having relatively shallow grooves with rounded bottoms ground in certain of the edges thereof intermediate the opposite side faces of said panels, and metal hangers secured to said'wall and having tongues fitting loosely in said grooves, the edges of said tongues facing the bottoms of said grooves being also rounded. '7. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor having relatively shallow grooves with rounded bottoms formed in certain of the edges thereof intermediate the opposite side faces of said panels, and metal hangers secured to said wall and having tongues fitting loosely in said grooves, the edges of said tongues facing the bottoms'of the grooves being also rounded and spaced from the bottoms of said grooves, with the thickness of the tongues being relatively less than the width of the grooves.

8; The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having relatively shallow grooves formed in certain of the edges thereof inwardly of the opposite side faces of said panels, and mechanical anchoring means secured tosaid wall and having portions fitting loosely in said grooves, said portions being spaced from the bottoms of the grooves and the thickness of the said portions being relatively less than the width of the said grooves.

9. The combination with a wall, of facing panels therefor of structural glass having relatively shallow grooves formed in certain of the edges thereof inwardly of the opposite side faces of said panels, and metal hangers secured to said wall and having tongues fitting loosely in said grooves, said tongues being spaced from the bottoms of the grooves and the thickness of the said tongues being relatively less than the width of the said grooves.

10. In combination, a supporting backing, a facing panel therefor of structural glass having relatively shallow grooves formed in certain of the edges thereof inwardly of the opposite side faces of said panel, and mechanical anchoring means secured to said backing and having portions fitting loosely in said grooves, said portions being spaced from the bottoms of the grooves and the thickness of the said portions being relatively less than the width of the said 10 HIOOVBS.

FRANK SOHN. 

